Food grater



Nov. 22, 1938. c. A. suNDs'rRAND 2,137,366 Foon GRATER v Filed Feb. 21,195e l cleaning ofltheparts.

Patented Nov. 22, `1938 .UNITED STATES `FATENT r@FFI 2,137,366 FoonGRATER.

` CarlA. Sundstrand, Rockford, Ill. 4Application February 21, 1936,Serial No. 65,028

` 4 claims..k (o1. 1464-91) This invention relates to food graters, andmore particularly one especially designed and adapted for domestic useto grate cheese, crackers, chocolate, toast, cocoanut, nut meats andmany other "5 dry and semi-dry foods, quickly and easily.

The principal object of my invention is to pro'- vide a food grater ofsimple, compactjand economical construction which may be taken apart andput together easily so as to permit thorough Most devices of this na#ture available in the past have been objectionable because certain partsthereof were not accessible for cleaning, and asa result such deviceswere not sanitary.

l5 Another object is to provide a food grater in which the rotarycylinder while quickly and easily detachable from the hand crank, asrequired for cleaning, isneverthelessarranged to beaccurately andrigidly supported in the bottom of the hopper to turn easily and quietlywithout scraping on the sides of the hopper. The crank is designed to beattached to the cylinderby threaded connection, thecylinder being heldand the handle being turned in onedirectionfor attachment and in theopposite direction for removal.

The invention is hereinafter described by reference to the accompanyingdrawing, wherein-5- Figure` l'is a central, vertical section through thefood grater of my invention; Fig. 2 is afragmentaryiront elevationshowing the upper portion of the device; Y

Fig. 3 is a plan View `oi" the device;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionon the line 4 4 of Fig.

` Fig. 5 isa perspective view of aV rubber band suitable for use on thebase of the jar in the manner shown in Fig. 1. l

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in theseviews.

40 The food grater consistsof a glass jar B to re' ceive the grated fooddropping from the openend of the cylinder 1 mounted in the lower end ofthe hopper 8, which is mounted on the jar` 6 as by means of a screw-oncap 9. The cheese or other food-stuff to be-grated is placed in thehopper 8, and the cylinder 'I'is turned by means of the crank I0. Thejar 6 forms a good support for the hopper and is arranged to be heldinfone hand while the crank is turned with the other. Since the jar isof glass or other suitable translucent material, the operator canobserve what amount of` food has been grated, and can stop the operationat the right time and no food will be wasted. The use of the jar, asthereceptacle for the grated food, dispenses with the need for extra dishesto catch the grated food during the operationlof the device. The bottomof the jar is formed with an annular groove I I to receive a iiat rubberband I2 (Fig.5) which when entered in the groove and stretched forapplication to the bottom of the jar f5: in the manner illustrated inFig. l, provides a lower marginal tread portion I3 to bear on the tabletop or other supporting surface and prevent slipping. In that way thereis no danger of accidentally spilling anything, and, of course, no 10need for clamping the device to the table. The construction justdescribedris obviously of advantage because it permits the use of astandard forni of rubber band as compared with a costlier molded rubberbase band specially constructed l5 for the purpose, and enables thehousewifeto replace a worn out or broken band without trouble orexpense. Furthermore, with this construction there is less likelihood ofthe band getting loose and coming ot, inasmuch as it must 20 bestretched to be applied to the jar. y

' VThe hopper 8 and cap 9 are similar to what employed in a nut chopperdisclosed in my Patent #2,001,075, issued May 14, 1935. The hopperissuitably stamped from one piece of sheet metal 25 to provide two sidewalls I4 joined by a back wall I5. The side walls have outwardlybentlugs I0 formed on the lower ends thereof, and the back wall hasasimilar outwardly bent lug Il thereon, and these lugs rest on the rimof the jar This :.30 permits clamping the hopper by means ofthe cap 9,which,` as clearly appears, hasa` central opening I8 therein throughwhich the hopper projects, the cap vfitting down on top of the lugsI-I'I to clamp the hopper, and at the Sametime close 35 the mouth of thejar. The front edgeof each of the side walls I4 is bent outwardly at anangle to `form longitudinal flanges I9 on whichfthe edges of a slide 20are made to t, asbest appears in Fig. 3, whereby the slide forms aremovable 40 front Wall for the hopper 8. The cutaway por-` tion 2l atthe upper end of the slide permits one to use a thumb or nger to presslightly on the food in the hopper to facilitate the grating thereof.When the slide is removed, one has easy 45 access to everybit of theinterior of the hopper to clean the same. i

The grating cylinder ,'I is formed from two pieces of sheet metal 22 and23, Ythe piece 22 forming the peripheral wall of the cylinder and the 50piece 23 closing one end of the cylinder, as clearly appears in Fig. 1.The piece Z2 is punched and struck to provide a large number of holes 24and adjacent outwardly projecting grating teeth, the teeth serving tocut particles of food, and the 55 holes 24 permitting these particles topass from the hopper into the cylinder for discharge through the openend 26 into the jar 6. One end of the peripheral wall 22 is rolled, asindicated at 21, to reenforce the open end of the cylinder and also givea rounded edge for safe cleaning. The other end of this wall is spunover the edge of the end wall 23, as at 28, thus eliminating any exposedsharp edges at that point as well. A hole is punched in the center ofthe end wall 23 of the cylinder and the wall is swedged inwardly at thispoint to provide a hollow cylindrical hub 29, which is then tapped toreceive the reduced threaded portion 30 of the shaft 3| on the crank |0.'I'he shaft 3| is received in a bearing 32 provided in the adjacent sidewall I4 of the hopper. A rod 33 which is pressed into an axial hole 34in the inner end of the shaft 3| extends through the grating cylinder 1and out of the open end 26 thereof and is received in a bearing 35provided therefor in the other side wall Hlv of the hopper. 'I'hebearings 32 and 35 are formed by punching holes in the side walls I4 andswedging the walls outwardly, as indicated, whereby to provide Widerbearing surfaces than would be afforded otherwise. This makes forsmooth,V easy and quiet operation, and reduces wear toa minimum so thatthe device will operate satisfactorily indefinitely without lubrication,lubrication being inimical in a food grater. The fact that the gratingcylinder has good support at both ends of these bearings. 32 and 35insures accurate alignment of the cylinder with respect to the` sidewalls of the hopper, and there `is no likelihood of the cylinder rubbingat one or both ends on the side walls and placing a drag on theoperation of the device. The construction permits quick and easyassembling since one can hold the grater cylinder with one hand whilethe crank is turned with the other, in a clockwise direction to connectthe crank to the cylinder and in a counterclockwise direction todisconnect the crank and remove it from the cylinder. Obviously thecylinder isrrst entered in the hopper before the rod 33 is enteredtherein. The rod is long enough to enter the bearing 35 before thethreaded portion 30 of the shaft 3| is started in the bore of the hub29. This facilitates assembling for obvious reasons..

' Referring to Fig. 4, it will be observed that the back wall I5 of thehopper 8 is bent inwardly above the grating cylinder 1, as indicated at36, at an acute angle to the plane of the back Wall, whereby to give alarger angle a between the periphery of the cylinder and the adjacentportion of the back wall and eliminate likelihood of food getting wedgedbetween the cylinder and the back wall, as, for example, tougherrindsand the like. Where the bent-in portion 36 meets the periphery ofthecylinder, an arcuate wall 31 is formed extending to the bottom of thehopper with a certain operating clearance allowance between the insideof the arcuate wall 31 and the periphery of the cylinder, as indicated.

I claim: Y

1. In a food grater, a receptacle, a closure for the top thereof, ahopper supported on said closure comprising sheet metal side walls inspaced parallel relation, a grating cylinder open at one end disposedhorizontally in the bottom of said hopper so that a portion of the openend is exposed in the receptacle to discharge grated food therein, saidcylinder comprising a peripheral Wall, and a sheet metal disk joined toone end of' said peripheral wall and closing one end of said cylinder,said disk having a central hole provided therein defined by an inwardlyprojecting hub portion, said hub being internally threaded, said hopperside walls having coaxial holes provided therein near the top of saidclosure defined by outwardly projecting bearing portions, and a driveshaft extending centrally through said cylinder and entered in saidbearing portions and having an externally threaded portion intermediatethe ends thereof threaded in said hub portion.

2. In a food grater, a sheet metal hopper adapted to receive food to begrated, comprising substantially vertical side, back and front walls, asheet metal grating cylinder open at one end horizontally disposed inthe lower portion of said hopper with its ends in closely spacedrelation to the adjacent side walls of the hopper, the back wall ,ofsaid hopper having a portion indented over said cylinder inclined at anacute angle relative to the vertical plane of said wall inwardly towardand over the periphery of said cylinder, the rest of the back walltherebelow vbeing bent in a short are to the bottom of the hopper, thearcuate portion being concentric with but spaced from the periphery ofsaid cylinder, the inclined and arcuate back Wall vportion terminatingin spaced relation to the side walls of the hopper, said gratingcylinder having the ends thereof formed to provide reenforcing annularprojecting rim portions extending into the spaces at opposite sides ofsaid inclined and arcuate back wall portions, a closure for the one endof said cylinder secured at its marginal portion to the rim portion onthe corresponding end of said cylinder and means connected to said endclosure for turning said cylinder.

3. In a food grater, a receptacle, a closure for the top thereof, ahopper supported on said closure comprising sheet metal sideA walls inspaced parallel relation, a grating cylinder open at one end disposedhorizontally in the bottom of said hopper so that a portion of the openend is eX- pOsed in the receptacle to discharge grated food therein,said side walls having coaxial holes provided therein in the lower endsthereof above said closure but with the bottom of one of said holessubstantially flush with the top of said closure, the holes beingdefined by outwardly projecting bearing portions,V a drive shaftextending through the cylinder and received in said bearing portions,the crank end of said shaft resting on top of said closure for bearingsupport, and a hand crank extending from said end and rotatablealongside the closure and receptacle.

4. In a food grater, a receptacle, a closure for the top thereof, ahopper supported on said closure adapted to receive food to be gratedand comprising spaced substantially parallel side walls, a hollowgrating cylinder open at one end disposed horizontally in the bottom ofsaid hopper so that aportion of the open end is exposed below theclosure in the receptacle to discharge grated food therein, a driveshaft extending through the cylinder and projecting through the sidewalls ofsaid hopper and fixed to the closed end of said cylinder,bearings for said shaft in the lower ends of the side walls of saidhopper above said closure, said shaft having one projecting end` thereofenlarged and resting on top of said closure for bearing support, and ahand crank on the extremity of said enlarged end rotatable alongsidesaid closure and receptacle.

CARLA. SUNDSTRAND.

